Windhoek residents owe municipality more than N$900 million
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on The Namibian
Windhoek residents owe the municipality more than 900 million Namibian dollars in unpaid bills, leading to service disconnections. Municipal chief executive Moses Matyayi is maintaining the measures despite a boycott call by Shaun Gariseb, according to The Namibian.
Windhoek residents owe the municipality more than 900 million Namibian dollars in unpaid service bills, prompting the city to cut off water and electricity to some overdue accounts. Municipal chief executive Moses Matyayi said on Friday that these measures would continue against residents who fail to pay their bills, according to The Namibian.
The disconnections target accounts that have remained unpaid for at least 30 days. Property owners remain responsible for debts linked to their properties when tenants fail to pay, while illegal connections and meter tampering can lead to prosecution, Moses Matyayi warned. The municipality estimates that a payment boycott could reduce its capacity to provide water, electricity, waste collection and infrastructure maintenance.
The announcement follows a call by Shaun Gariseb, a social justice activist and chairperson of the Khomas Residents and Ratepayers Association, for a three-month boycott of municipal payments. He opposes the disconnections and questions the city's financial management, whose budget stands at 4.9 billion Namibian dollars, with 1.5 billion, or 32%, allocated to personnel costs.
The municipality says it approved 724 million Namibian dollars in debt relief between 2023 and 2025. Moses Matyayi rejected the boycott, arguing that paying for municipal services is a legal obligation.
